Regrets of a Zombie
by YamiTenshi
Summary: Michiru doesn't know what to do about Chika. He's shut down completely. So she does her best to try to get him to open up again. after A-Loan arc Chichiru


Regrets of a Zombie

Set sometime after they escape the school's alternate dimension field. If you're not _really_ up to speed on the manga, then you should look it up. Chapter 35 and onward. There will be spoilers. Sort of. The scans are only up to 38.

0o0

Six days had passed. Their nerves had worn thin and they'd come out on top of A-Loan by the skin of their teeth with the help of Otsu, Lyca, and Sotetsu. Bekkou had said that the number of illegal zombies had nearly tripled since they'd first been trapped in the building and that left a lot of flies for them to swat. More illegal zombies meant increased chances to breed more illegal zombies and they'd skipped an entire day of school to dedicate it to thinning out their ranks as much as possible. With Lyca's nose, Michiru's eyes, and Zarame's shinigami instinct, it'd been easy enough to scout them out and even easier to dispose of since they were all low-level, weak sheep-like zombies who clustered in dense clumps. They'd made the money. The day had been saved again. All was well.

Except for the fact that Chika had stopped talking.

Ever since Yomi and Michiru had woken him up from his frenzied stupor where he craved flesh, he'd said next to nothing. Even when Shito, being concerned for his partner in his special aloof sort of way, tried to prod him into an argument, he simply grunted and wandered off. His depression wasn't the same as it had been when Shiba 'died'. That had been a fair enough reason for anyone to be sad. But this was becoming worrisome. He hardly ate, paid less attention in class than normal, and stayed locked up in his room when he wasn't hunting zombies or at school. Even Zarame was annoyed by his reclusive behavior.

'_**If he doesn't stop it soon, I'll rip his spine out of his back'**_ were his exact words.

"Um… Chika-kun…?" she rapped softly on his door with her knuckles. "I brought you some dinner. It's pork katsudon. Sotetsu-san got it when he was arrested by the police earlier because they mistook him for a wanted criminal."

Michiru had been trying to get him to eat regularly, but Shito ended up always taking the food and eating it himself so it wouldn't go to waste. Even so, she always saved half of hers and left it outside his room. When she went to check in the morning, the only thing left were the dishes. It gave her hope.

He gave no response.

Zarame, very frustrated with this because it kept occupying Michiru's time when it could better be spent with her coddling him, floated out of her arms and slid his scythe into the crack between the lock and the catch. With a bit of wriggling, the lock popped open and Michiru slowly opened the door. It creaked loudly and she peeked inside, figuring that Chika would just slam the door in her face. He was curled up on his bed in the fetal position with his back to her. She could see him shivering.

"Chika-kun? Are you alright?" she asked as Zarame floated elsewhere, wondering who he could stab to humor himself.

"Go away."

She should've been disheartened, but it was the first time Chika had acknowledged her presence since escaping. Michiru took a spot on the bed next to him and pressed her hand to his forehead. "Do you think you have a cold?"

"Michiru, please… Go away."

"No." The boldness of the statement shocked even her. She'd been changing slowly since her near-death experience and this was only another step in her transformation from a dark, gloomy girl to something else. "I brought you dinner. It's from—"

"I heard you the first time. Don't give me your boyfriend's food."

"Ah—well, he said it would be okay…" She set the bowl on the floor and tried to peer at his covered face. "Are you feeling well?"

"I should be the one asking you that." He tucked his knees closer to his forehead, curling into the position tighter. "I tried to eat you."

"Don't worry about it, the bites healed up just fine and there isn't much of a scar, so—"

"Idiot. I devolved into a fucking good-for-nothing zombie. I know you must hate me, so stop trying to be so nice to me."

"I don't hate you, Chika-kun. It wasn't your fault." She tried to soothe him, but her attempts were futile.

"I tried to eat you. You hate me, you're going to leave me like _she_ did," Chika hissed, accepting this as the inevitable truth.

Michiru had seen some unpleasant things when she delved into Chika's memories. She didn't want to become one of those memories that he regretted and feared and made him lose control. She wanted to be a good, warm memory, one that helped drown out the sorrows of the past. Right now, that was all she wanted to do.

Michiru laid down beside him and stroked his silver-gray hair, holding him close. "I promise that I'll never leave you, Chika-kun."

"Liar," he whispered, though he found himself being drawn deeper into her embrace.

"I promise."

Chika uncurled and let Michiru hold him for the rest of the night. He'd never experienced such gentle hands that smoothed out his wild hair and rubbed warm circles on his back. Nor had he ever been so close to a girl that he could smell her breath easily, sweet and minty from her toothpaste. It was all frighteningly new, being this close with the shinigami-eyed girl. Her small, slender body seemed to encompass his larger one with its endless tenderness. For once, he didn't see her as 'four-eyed money-making gofer' but rather as 'woman'. Perhaps he kissed her softly while she slept, but who would know? In the morning, their relationship would revert to normal and no one would be the wiser.

But for now, she was his and he was hers.

She would be the thing he'd never had.

0o0

It would be so terribly kind of you to review. So… Please?


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